When Jamaican-born social activist Marcus Garvey came to the United St

2. The passage suggests that many African American people responded to their experiences in the armed forces in which of the following ways?

Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Inference

According to the passage, African Americans enthusiastically joined the armed services but were confronted with continued segregation, both in the military and when they returned home. The passage does not explicitly state their response to these experiences, but a response can be inferred. The second paragraph refers to anthropologist Anthony F. C. Wallace, who argued that a revitalization movement may be brought about by the perception of a gap between expectations and reality, and such a revitalization did occur in African American communities following the First World War; thus, many African American people may have become aware of a gap such as Wallace described.

A. The passage states that African American troops experienced segregation and other indignities while in the military; these experiences could reasonably be inferred to have dampened their enthusiasm for the armed forces. Regardless, the passage does not suggest an enthusiastic allegiance.

B. The passage describes African American people’s enthusiasm about joining the military. Although they experienced segregation and other indignities while in the military, the passage does not suggest that their opinion about involvement in the war changed.

C. While African American troops may have joined political organizations, the passage does not provide any actual evidence of this having occurred.

D. Correct. The fact that, as the passage states, a revitalization movement occurred in the African American community following the First World War suggests that the returning soldiers did become aware of the gap between their expectations of an improved situation with regard to segregation and the reality of continued segregation in the United States.

E. The passage does not suggest that African American troops repudiated Garvey’s message. On the contrary, it states that Garvey built the largest revitalization movement in African American history. This suggests that the members of the African American community, including the returning soldiers, were extremely receptive to Garvey’s message.

The correct answer is D.